Capitalismo… for ever La satisfacción que siente Chávez y nuestros comunistas endógenos con los apuros que está pasando EEUU con su crisis financiera no la pueden ocultar, es una fiesta lo que se celebra al ver como el Estado, en manos del gobierno de Bush y ahora de Obama, tuvieron que intervenir a bancos, nacionalizar compañías aseguradoras, y prestarle dinero de la nación a las ensambladoras de vehículos y otras instituciones financieras, violando, según nuestros comunistas endógenos, el mandamiento principal del sistema capitalista: El Estado no debe intervenir en el decurso del mercado. Y lo primero que debo decir, es que sí, efectivamente, hay una crisis financiera grave originada en Wall Street que afecta no solo la economía nacional norteamericana sino a todo el orbe, incluyendo a Venezuela, y que según Chávez, estaba blindada en contra de la crisis que es global, obviando algo tan fundamental como que EEUU es nuestro principal cliente, que nos paga en dólares por nuestro petróleo y que además es nuestro primer proveedor de bienes y servicios. Es tal pobreza espiritual de los chavistas que aprovechan el problema para predicar las bondades ficticias del socialismo, para decir que Chávez es un brujo pues, desde hace décadas, predijo que esto iba a ocurrir, que gracias a su sagacidad nuestras reservas están a buen resguardo… de nuevo, puro cuento. Para empezar, el capitalismo ha sido y es un sistema económico imperfecto, nunca se ha vanagloriado de una supuesta infalibilidad como sí lo hace el comunismo, de hecho, las crisis económicas son el pan y el agua del sistema, obligándolo a crecer, a mejorar, a no repetir errores. Los problemas no asustan a los capitalistas, de hecho los buscan, los enfrentan y los dominan, porque el capitalismo es praxis, es acción, es movimiento, creación continua, es vida. Un economista medianamente preparado estudia las innumerables crisis del capitalismo, todas ocasionadas por problemas diferentes, de origen monetario, de mercados, de competencia, financieras, de producción, de precios, de valores, etc. Cada aspecto de la práctica del mercado ha sido puesto a prueba y se ha avanzado en mejorar su funcionamiento, en probar sus principios, sus controles, sus libertades, y con cada crisis el sistema se fortalece y se hace más confiable, porque fundamentalmente el sistema se basa en la confianza, en el cambio constante y en la creatividad. La economía en el sistema capitalista siempre tiende al equilibrio, pero jamás lo alcanza, lo más que puede lograr es un balance precario donde actúan innumerable fuerzas materiales y espirituales, y cuando se pierde el equilibrio las partes del sistema actúan de inmediato produciéndose en el ínterin ganancias para algunos perdidas para otros, aparecen las oportunidades, se producen las quiebras, y cuando el desequilibrio es muy grande, siempre queda la posibilidad de la intervención del Estado, no para poner fin al juego capitalista, sino para recuperarlo y volverlo a poner a tono. Esta idea es particularmente incomprensible para los comunistas quienes solo ven a la intervención del Estado para acabar con las libertades, la productividad, las ganancias, Chávez jamás comprenderá que el Estado está al servicio de la sociedad y del bien común, y que en un sistema capitalista el mercado determina una manera de vida y de trabajo, y que cuando ese "way of life" se ve amenazado, el Estado actúa para salvarlo, no para destruirlo y hacerse de lo que no es suyo: la vida y el trabajo de la gente. En un sistema capitalista el Estado juega un papel importante, de hecho gracias a su músculo fiscal mantiene un piso seguro gracias al cual funcionan las instituciones ¿Por qué no usarlo en momentos de crisis? En el caso de EEUU el país más poderoso y rico del planeta, las crisis de su sistema son gigantescas y sucede que, en el ejercicio de unos de sus atributos más preciados que es la libertad, los excesos pueden ser costosos, y eso es lo que está sucediendo, la especulación que es necesaria y normal en los procesos de inversión, en manos de unos grupos de inescrupulosos, se escapa de control y hace daño, igualmente el exceso de controles por parte del Estado al imponer al sector inmobiliario metas irrealizables como fue la de ofrecer vivienda para todos, sin importar costos, produciendo una recesión mundial. Se está incluso hablando de prescindir del elemento financiero de la economía, para darle fuerza a la economía real y productiva, dejando atrás todos esos valores artificiales asignados a productos e instrumentos financieros, cuyo objetivo era elevar el rendimiento de papeles y acciones y que han creado tanta deuda tóxica en el sistema. La economía norteamericana está buscando su balance en medio de una crisis que afecta a todo el planeta, a nadie le conviene hacer fiesta con este problema, por ello es que las ayudas vienen de todos lados y afortunadamente el pueblo norteamericano tiene los recursos materiales y morales para hacerle frente a esta situación y saldrá adelante, y el sistema capitalista se hará más fuerte. El capitalismo es un sistema en plena evolución, adaptable y elástico, no es como el socialismo rígido, controlador y carente de creatividad (es incapaz de generar riqueza, lo que hace es mal distribuir la que existe), en términos de producir bienestar, el mercado es pródigo en fórmulas y propuestas. Si las crisis son oportunidades, entonces no dudo que tendremos capitalismo para rato, lo cual me place y desespera a Chávez. [email protected]

Saul, I guess you speak English since you are obviously a person with a high lever of formal education and because you chose to use it in the title of your homage to capitalism. I have managed to get a good understanding of Spanish over the last few years living in Latin America but I don’t write so well in this new tongue. To the article. Coming from Australia where economic systems aren’t taught let along debated amongst the majority to Latin America during this time of massive debate and change I would have to say that I have come to question the system that I was brought up under. My understanding as a child was that poverty existed because of the lesser intellect or geographical misfortune of those across the seas who didn’t enjoy the right to education, health, housing etc.It seemed plausible from the images of starving Somalia’s that arrived to my TV in search for rich world charity. But when I moved to Europe for a short time following my studies things changed. I started to see the world beyond the English language and take a real interest in history. First that of Eastern Europe and Russia and then later Latin America. I must admit Che Guevara’s image being used as a fashion statement all over London was part of awakening my interest in your beautiful and diverse continent. I travelled from Mexico to Chile alone learning Spanish along the way and developing a new more human understanding of poverty and wealth. It became clear that countries like Guatemala and Bolivia with desperate poverty also had massive amounts of natural wealth and hard working populations who’s focus was on getting work and looking after their families above all else. I needed to find another reason for what is causing poverty. Working in an orphanage in Guatemala made me fear for the future and lament the past of all the young souls I had come to care so much for. I looked into the past. I read about Jacobo Arbenz and Rigoboerti Menchu. Guatemala did fight for basic rights to land and education. The people lost, the CIA backed right won. The result? Guatemala is a very dangerous country with massive inequality whose resources are being gifted to foreign companies for lack of national policy. Capitalism is reigning supreme but free trade and non existent regulation of land and work places is delivering quality of life to a privileged few. What is the path forward. Which education or health enterprise is going to come to the rescue for the poor or how are they going to obtain a wage like the rich to enjoy their access to services. Sure there will be a few who make the leap in classes but these are exceptions. The children of the lower class will never have the opportunity to compete for the executive position that will go to the son or daughter of one of the same class. You see in the context of your continent Venezuela and it’s new allies are a source of great hope since they have been given a mandate to deviate from the path that has been dictated by the worlds financial institutions to all the countries of the majority (third) world. To say that the economic crisis is the bread and water of capitalism is to say that is lives off misery. How many children will die because their parents have no money to pay for health care, how many are being forced onto the streets or into prostitution by hunger. This crisis shouldn’t be celebrated but nor should it be accepted as inevitable. Your statements about the system being refined by crisis celebrates misery. Capitalism is flexible in the extent to which any attempt to find a profit is considered fair game. It is this game which has pushed hundreds of millions off their land to move to the city to provide cheap services to the rich. Cleaning houses, shoes or selling gum instead of subsistence living on the land is capitalist productivity. This trend must be reversed world wide for the human race to have a future. Energy consumption decline is inevitable be it 50, 100 or 500 years ahead of us, we will return to the land on mass when transport is not so cheap. Venezuela is a leader in this trend with it’s impulse for food self sufficiency and thus security. You may choose to deny any achievements of the current government and negate the worth of the new dynamic system being created but if it’s capitalism that you want there is a world of capitalist misery out there to explore. Given your education and eloquent writing skills I have no doubt that you like me will always have a place high enough on the capitalist tree to reach the fruits but don’t forget the roots where the hard work is being done in darkness and with fruitless labour. I implore to go on questioning the government of Venezuela and debating with your compatriots but please subject the capitalist regimes of the rest of the world to the same scrutiny. Without it your credibility is lost along with your intelligence to a mono-culture world dominated by the dollar. saludos, Keegan Smith p.s I have lived in Venezuela for a short time and visited a few times and plan to head back within next year.

Dear Mr. Keegan

Thanks for your comments to my article, it´s true, capitalism in Latin America didn´t worked as is supposed to, not because the system failed, but because the people that work on it, didn´t have much interest on the economy of the countries as a whole, but only in profits for their pockets, beginning with some governments, as the American government, who practice imperialism and crude exploitation during decades, and our governments who failed to look first for our national interest, and our people who was not prepared for democracy. But the system works, and capitalism has associated to itself important values as freedom and democracy. We are paying now for the broken dishes when an opportunistic system, as socialism, that thrive in poverty and misery, took over our countries canceling freedom and democracy and multiplying poverty. Venezuela is going in direct course to hell, our dictator and his regime are preaching love and solidarity, but a police state is controlling every aspect of our lives, and the historical blame to capitalism is the perfect excuse to kill the roots of independence and individuality. Mr Keegan, on the contrary of Colonel Chavez’s opinion, my country never was a capitalist; all our governments in our recent democratic pass were all socialist. Times have change, and the world is moving forward, the only rational answer to poverty is productivity, more opportunities, more employment, it´s a mistake to fall back on the worst kind of imperialism, the communist imperialism that Chavez is building in LatinAmerica.

Regards.

Saúl Godoy Gómez 

---